Added a thoughtful review of Something Magic(thanks, Unsteady Freddie) ... but where does the idea come from that TWatT '... is largely derived from a musical theme of an early album ... this inclusion on side two was warranted because no one remembered the earlier work'?

Added something pretty odd ... there is a Procol Harum song with one title but five different sets of words ... read the fifth set to have come to light(thanks, Martin, and thank you Martin / Nicholas)

Added to the page in which fans suggest 'meanings' for the words of A Whiter Shade of Pale. Click here and search for 'sixteen mysteries' to see whether you think the enigma has been solved at last. (thanks, Tim)

Fans ask BtP whether any 'lost songs' of Procol Harum will appear on their forthcoming album. We don't know. Gary Brooker told BtP in June that he was planning an all-new set for the new album, and specifically said he didn't plan to record A Robe of Silk and so forth. We did get the impression, though, that he had been re-listening to the Something Magic Miami demos ... remind yourself about these by re-reading the recently re-vamped article

We are also delighted to add to the celebrations with a very exciting 'State of the Union' address, containing some long-anticipated news that we know all Procol Harum fans will be rather interested to read (thanks, Gary; thanks, Diane, thanks Matthew)

Lastly, thanks to the BBC2 Top of the Pops 2, which is screening Procol Harum playing A Whiter Shade of Pale at 6.20pm on this Most Auspicious Day (thanks, Alan)

We have commemorated this anniversary with the following pieces in recent years:

Added some suitably morbid French words that have been written for a Canadian version of A Whiter Shade of Pale, with a useful suggestion for recreational karaoke (thanks, Martin)

Have you got a Procol Harum anecdote to contribute to a forthcoming book? If so, please see here(thanks, Marley)

With tonight's upload we complete our first five years of

daily additions to 'Beyond the Pale'. Thanks to all for reading and contributing – please play some suitable music, loudly, all day, and in a public place, to celebrate ... and come back tomorrow to find out how Procol Harum themselves spent the day ...

October 6:

"A good singer with a good arranger and producer could do just as good a job on any of our songs as we do ..."